by Anna Murphy 
Last night, Americana artist and musical scion Amy Helm took the stage at City Winery with her band The Handsome Strangers for the last night of their week-long residency. Best known as the daughter of the late Levon Helm (of The Band acclaim), the Woodstock native put on a wide-ranging two hour show that proved she's riding noone's coattails. Helm played selections from her debut solo album that she assured us is finally coming out this June after four years in the making.

I went into the night expecting a night chock full of classic country, but Helm upped the ante with some classic rhythm and blues, courtesy of contemporary jazz vocalist Catherine Russell and soul singer William Bell. She dedicated the hymn “Gloryland” - which she said her dad taught her -  to “all of our and your loved ones that are ‘over there’”

Helm closed out with a stripped-down rendition of The Band’s “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” hitting a bass drum just like her dad used to do. 

More pics on the photo page.